Video: Contours

The next set of tools we are going to look at are these Sandbox tools and what these do is they allow you to create landscapes using curves. They could also be used to create kind of non-regular objects because what they do is they use curves to define a surface. Let me show you how they work but before we do that, we have to load the tools. By default, SketchUp doesn't load the Sandbox tools because they are actually an extension. So what we can do is we can go into our Window > Preferences. If you are on a Mac, you will find these preferences under the SketchUp menu. Then just scroll down to Extensions and you will see the Sandbox tools here, and we can just go ahead and load those and when we do that, you will see here we have an option here for Sandbox, which are some of these tools and there is also a toolbar for Sandbox, which comes up here.

Architecture, design, and media professionals all over the world are using Google SketchUp to create detailed 3D models efficiently and quickly. In Google SketchUp 6 Essential Training, design expert George Maestri teaches the foundations of SketchUp's drawing, design, and rendering tools. He covers the fundamentals of the application, the interface, and the Sandbox extension, which is used to create realistic organic shapes and terrain. George also discusses how to model and texture objects from existing photographs and export models to Google Earth to visualize how buildings fit in a real landscape. Exercise files accompany the course.

Contours

The next set of tools we are going to look at are these Sandbox tools and whatthese do is they allow you to create landscapes using curves. They could alsobe used to create kind of non-regular objects because what they do is they usecurves to define a surface.Let me show you how they work but before we do that, we have to load the tools.By default, SketchUp doesn't load the Sandbox tools because they are actually anextension. So what we can do is we can go into our Window > Preferences. If youare on a Mac, you will find these preferences under the SketchUp menu. Thenjust scroll down to Extensions and you will see the Sandbox tools here, and wecan just go ahead and load those and when we do that, you will see here we havean option here for Sandbox, which are some of these tools and there is also atoolbar for Sandbox, which comes up here.

Sandbox works in two ways; one is to create the sandbox or the terrain FromContours and the other one is to create it From Scratch. So let's go ahead andlook at the first method, From Contours.We can do that by creating, well some contours. So how do we do that? Well, allwe have to do is just create some lines. I am just going to use the FreehandLine tool and just draw some random lines. Let me draw one more here. Here wego. So now that I have these lines, you can see that they are still on theground plane here. So if I wanted to make like, for example, a hill side, all Ihave to do is just move these up a little bit, so I just click the lines,select them and then just move them vertically. In fact, let's go ahead andmove that one down, just a little bit there, there we go.

So now you can see I have got kind of more of a stair step kind of terrain. Infact, we can probably move this one up a lot more, there we go. So that will belike a hillside. So in order to create a terrain, all we have to do is justselect each one of these and then once they are all selected, we can just usethis tool which says from contours and what that does, is it uses these curvesto create the contours of our terrain.

And what this does is it actually creates an object, a separate object, infact, I can move this away. It's not connected to the lines at all. Now in some3D packages, these original lines remain active, so you can edit them but wedon't have that in Google SketchUp. But once these curves are created, we dohave an object that we can move around and we can use as terrain in our Googlescenes.For these curves, you don't really have to draw them freehand. For example, ifyou are already an architectural project, you can certainly trace out theterrain contours of the site that you are using; you can also do other things with this.

But before we get into those other sorts of applications, let's take a look atwhat this object that we have created is. This is called a TIN, but essentiallywhat it is is just a network of meshes. It's just a triangular mesh. Right now,it's grouped, so if I Explode that group, you will see this triangular mesh,and what it does is is it just draws edges and creates triangles for whateverit needs to create this particular terrain. So I do have underlying geometry here.

Now a lot of these edges are hidden and if I wanted to, I could go just go toShow Hidden Geometry and I can see those edges and if I wanted to, I couldselect them and move them around and edit this terrain, if I wanted to.Now, the other thing you can do with this, obviously, since it's just astandard piece of geometry, is you can of course, put Materials on it. Forexample, if you wanted a groundcover, let's say, you wanted to make it,whatever rock or whatever, you can certainly do that. And so that's a good wayto make the terrain for your architectural projects.

Now I am going to select all these and delete them and show you some otherapplications of this using this From Contours. What I am going to do is I amjust going to draw a circle and I am going to go ahead and delete that insideface, so all I have is a circular edge and then I am just going to move thisup. So this would be the top part of my terrain or whatever I am going to callit and then I am just going to go ahead and move with the control key and justdo a plus and just move vertically. In fact, I can just lock that by using theup arrow key and if I wanted to, I could just use the scale to make this of aslightly different shape.

So let's go ahead and make that a little bigger on each side. So now what I amdoing is I am essentially creating a series of round contours and then I amgoing to use the Move tool again with Control to copy that circular outlineagain and then just hit the Scale key again and just scale this up just alittle bit more.So what I have got is I have got a stair step of circular profiles, so if Iselect those, if I Shift+Select all of these, I can certainly do a FromContours for that and what it does is it essentially creates kind of a -- well,this kind of looks like Space Mountain or something like that. But you can seehow you can use this to almost loft out; it's very similar to a Loft functionin a 3D application.

So you can certainly create an outline of curves, if you wanted to and loftthem using this From Contours tool. So those are some of the basics of how tocreate a landscape or a terrain From Contours and in the next lesson, let's goahead and look at the other tool, which is From Scratch.

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